Although most of Apple's critics come from outside of the company's immediate circle, that trend is being broken today by a new report that shows former Apple executives blasting the Cupertino-based tech giant for "ignoring" overseas labor abuses.

According to coverage provided by The New York Times, more than one unnamed former Apple executive sounds off in order to assert Apple's culpability in the alleged abuses.

“We’ve known about labor abuses in some factories for four years, and they’re still going on,” said one former Apple executive who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements. “Why? Because the system works for us. Suppliers would change everything tomorrow if Apple told them they didn’t have another choice.”

As MMi and others in the tech news space have reported in recent years, Apple's policies and procedures have repeatedly come under fire in response to reports of death, suicides, accidents, and environmental transgressions all linked to Apple or the company's supply chain and global manufacturing partners.

“Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost,” Li Mingqi, a former Foxconn Technology employee, tells the NYT. Li is now suing Foxconn over his dismissal despite having helped the company successfully manage the aftermath of a Foxconn plant's fatal explosion in May of 2011. “Workers’ welfare has nothing to do with their interests,” he said.

To read the full and highly controversial report from The New York Times, click here.

apple spent $100 million dollars to sue HTC, imagine how much 'good' $100 million dollars could have done in a country where people work for $2/hr.

Add that to Tim Cook's 370 plus million dollar pay out and maybe people would not have to live on top of each other or jump off the roof from stress. Tim should be rich, but what exactly do you do with that kind of money. He's a workaholic, so it's not like he's gonna take time to spend it anyway. Or the fact that he will probably get more then that at the rate Apple is growing over the next few years again. And that's just Tim Cook. I'm sure there is a boat load of other people high up in Apple making insane amounts of money. My point is that conditions could be a lot better and Apple is well aware of what is going on. Greed makes it easy to turn a blind eye.

I understand that apple could do a little more for there workers over at Foxconn. But I agree with luke saying that a business is a business and apple should continue making high quality products. Other companies such as Sony could help out with this issue also since Foxconn is the main producer for them and others

With Maxime. Not all fault can land on Apple. Media mainly puts Apple on the headline for Foxconn stuff but they make products for all the big players. It should be a team effort then to try and work on how they should handle the situation.

These things are difficult, Apple's not the only company in the world that has problems like this. Hopefully they will do what they can to make working conditions better for employee's any chance they get.

I definitely don't mind paying a little more for a product if it means Apple will help working conditions. It is sad to see these working conditions. I complain about the company I work for but I am really fortunate to have a choice where *** Foxconn employees seem to be forced. Let's hope things improve soon...

Add that to Tim Cook's 370 plus million dollar pay out and maybe people would not have to live on top of each other or jump off the roof from stress.... My point is that conditions could be a lot better and Apple is well aware of what is going on. Greed makes it easy to turn a blind eye.

Guys, please keep in mind that these are not Apple employees, they are employees of companies that supply services and products to Apple. While I agree that nobody should have to work in horrible conditions, it truly is up to their own company to make that happen, not Apple. If an RFP goes out to competing companies from Apple, they bid back the work for whatever price they think will win the work, and make them money. That bid has to be competitive, and profitable for the supplier. They can refuse to bid, or bid high enough to provide whatever they feel is fair compensation to their employees. Apple cannot force them to do anything, they make that choice to play ball with Apple.

This is standard capitalism and basic business/economics, that all companies practice. China is going to have to go through it's own civil & labor rights movements the same way the US did. The Chinese Government plays a large role in this too. Bear in mind that the entire reason you can get an iPhone for $299 or a 1TB HD for $89, is that the employees make 8 dollars a week rather than 35 dollars an hour, weekends off, 8-5 hrs, with 2-3 weeks vacation a year, and a health & dental plan. This is the reason everything is outsourced from the US these days, the cost of labor here is absurd, thanks largely to Unions and a socialist leaning Government.

Villifying Apple, and Tim Cook, etc. for making money is easy when being done from a very juvenile viewpoint. If you really care, take a pay cut and end Welfare.